AUSTIN, Texas — Practice Highlights Ahead of US Grand Prix Qualifying

Lewis Hamilton led the timing charts during the final hour of practice, finishing ahead of Max Verstappen and teammate Charles Leclerc, hinting at an exciting qualifying session for the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix.

The practice session kicked off at 12:30 p.m. local time, under partly cloudy skies and an air temperature of 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Some teams were quick to hit the track, with Sergio Pérez, Gabriel Bortoleto, and Franco Colapinto taking advantage of the green light at the pit lane’s exit.

However, others, including Lando Norris, Verstappen, Oscar Piastri, Leclerc, and Oliver Bearman, opted for a slower start, staying in the garages while Pérez and Colapinto enjoyed some time alone on the track.

As the session progressed, Pierre Gasly and Valtteri Bottas also joined in, creating a scenario where the Cadillac and Alpine teams found the track suddenly free.

Things began to heat up around the 50-minute mark, with more cars taking to the asphalt. Gasly initially clocked the fastest lap at 1:37.592 on C3 medium tires.

Hamilton quickly upped the ante with a swift lap of 1:36.716 on soft tires, and the times began to drop steadily.

With about 43 minutes remaining, Liam Lawson surprised everyone by posting a top time of 1:36.420 on medium tires. This led to a barrage of improvements as Piastri and then Verstappen surged ahead with times of 1:36.243 and 1:35.702, respectively.

Hamilton responded, pushing back to the top with a time of 1:35.561.

At the midway point of the third practice session, the top five featured Hamilton, Verstappen, Norris, George Russell, and Isack Hadjar, with some surprising tire choices—Hamilton and Russell used C4 softs while Hadjar and Verstappen set their times on C3 mediums.

This suggested strong potential for Red Bull on both Saturday and Sunday.

As the second half of FP3 unfolded, Leclerc jumped to the top spot on medium tires, hinting at Ferrari’s improvements in Austin, followed closely by championship leader Kimi Antonelli in third with soft tires.

There was some intensity on track, with Russell, Esteban Ocon, and Nico Hülkenberg racing with fervor.

At the 20-minute mark, many top drivers were in the pits, including both Ferrari drivers and Verstappen. Antonelli, however, was in attack mode, tearing up the track on fresh C4 softs. He set the pace with a remarkable lap of 1:35.015, although it was all for nothing as the lap was ultimately disqualified for exceeding track limits.

Next in line was Verstappen, who recorded a time of 1:35.061, which quickly became the new benchmark until Hamilton delivered a blistering 1:34.893.

Leclerc finally managed a solid lap on the softs, temporarily putting himself at the top with a time of 1:34.810, but his time was also deleted for track limit violations.

Track limits have proven to be a significant concern, especially after officials noted a staggering 207 laps were invalidated across the Friday sessions, leading to relaxed restrictions at various turns.

With just under ten minutes remaining, an unexpected surprise came from Hülkenberg, who found himself in seventh place—could Audi be gearing up for a potential Q3 shock?

However, complications arose for his teammate, Bortoleto, who faced scrutiny for possibly impeding Hamilton during a critical moment in the session.

As the end of FP3 approached, Verstappen faced a bit of a scare by locking up his RB22 entering Turn 15, while Hadjar had his moment at Turn 1, narrowly avoiding contact with Alexander Albon.

When the checkered flag waved, Hamilton retained the top spot, with Verstappen, Leclerc, Antonelli, and Russell completing the top five. Piastri came in sixth, followed by Hülkenberg, Norris, Gasly, and Hadjar.

Liam Lawson finished in P11, and his teammate Arvid Lindblad was just behind in P12, followed by Bortoleto, Bearman, Colapinto, Alonso, Ocon, Stroll, Albon, Sainz, Pérez, and Bottas bringing up the rear of the grid.

So, what does all of this mean for qualifying later today? It seems like there’s a good chance we might be in for an exciting showdown here in Austin.